Southwest Region Woman's Club GFWC

We need volunteers to set up, sell, interact with customers, and tear down our amazing booth selling Women's Bean Project soups, dips, spices, baking mixes, etc. Please contact Rosie O'Dell if you can prepare food for
sampling or work a ‘shift’ at this event.
Come enjoy a fantastic holiday bazaar with over 100 vendors - a great place to find unique gift items for the upcoming holiday season!

7 SRWC clubwomen met for the afternoon on October 16th and created 42 adorable mini-Halloween costumes for the babies in the NICU at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children in
Denver. Thanks to all who donated felt, glue, time and talents to create these! Creativity flowed as we
created capes with Superman, Batman, WonderWoman, Captain America, Baby Shark, Rainbows,
Turtles, Caterpillars, etc! We estimate 40+ hours of volunteer service were given in this effort. Sue delivered the costumes to the NICU on October 18th and briefly met a former SRWC member who has a preemie son at RMHC. In-kind donation value of the materials used was $210 ($5/costume.)

The Peaks District Meeting was held Saturday, October 8th in Colorado Springs. 6 SRWC members attended and enjoyed the Fall "Friendsgiving" theme. We networked with the 5 clubs in our District and shared plans for our upcoming year. We collected TP and PT for the local Ronald McDonald House and were treated to a presentation by the director of the Co Springs RMH. What amazing support they offer to families of children in local hospitals!

Remember, SRWC is partnering with another local GFWC club, Chalets, to try and collect 500 pounds of
plastic film over a 6-month period. Sue will bring a baby scale to meetings if you need an accurate
weight on the bags of plastic you take into King Soopers, etc. Individuals need to report any donations each month to our program coordinator, Kim Zeiner.

SRWC will be collecting used Cell Phones, partnering with GFWC and Secure the Call, a 501c organization that works to provide free emergency devices to domestic violence shelters throughout the US.

For the last 20 years, Secure the Call has been asking people to donate the old, unwanted devices, which they repurpose into free emergency call phones. These life-saving devices can call 911 without a service contract and ensure that help is never out of reach for individuals in abusive relationships.

From October 1- February 28, 2023 all GFWC clubs are asked to hold a drive to collect these devices. GFWC clubs' goal is to collect 7500 phones and tablets to meet their expected demand in 2023. Secure the Call will pay shipping charges to send them our devices.

For more information, please visit www.securethecall.org/GFWC

Take the time this Veterans Day to put your day-to-day activities on pause and join GFWC in honoring all of the amazing and courageous women and men who have served!

GFWC Member Portal FAQs Provide Helpful Tips for Clubwomen

Clubwomen have access to a wealth of information, resources, GFWC merchandise, and fun and informative events through the GFWC Member Portal. Whether you are wondering how to sign up for an account of your own, register for a webinar, purchase items from Marketplace, or want to learn more about GFWC Community Service Programs in the Club Manual, you can find answers to these questions and more by checking out the Member Portal FAQ page.

This resource, which is published within the GFWC Resources section of www.GFWC.org, includes sections on general GFWC Member Portal inquiries, navigating the Digital Library, registering for GFWC events, placing orders with Marketplace, donating to GFWC, using GFWC logos and emblems, and how to join GFWC. The step-by-step answers will help guide you through many common questions and concerns regarding the GFWC Member Portal.

However, if you can’t find the answer you are looking for in the Member Portal FAQs, please don’t hesitate to email [email protected] and someone will assist you with your inquiry as soon as possible.

Update Your Member Portal Profile

Please visit your profile in the Member Portal and verify that your name, contact information, and home address are correct. If these fields are incorrect, select the pencil icon to make edits. If your primary club is incorrect, please email [email protected] for assistance. Past positions are currently being archived by GFWC staff.

Support the Success for Survivors Scholarship Fund

Throughout the past 18 months, Starfish Project has helped 27 women escape the brothels and begin a new life of freedom. Each brave woman has been an integral part of creating their holiday collection, Rejoice. This new collection features a variety of stunning pearls, druzy, and timeless silver and gold. Celebrate the joy of the season by knowing your purchases are giving survivors of human trafficking and exploitation opportunities to establish sustainable lives of freedom and develop life-changing careers.

Through a fundraising agreement with GFWC, purchasing any Starfish Project products at this dedicated link will give 25% of the sales price to the GFWC Success for Survivors Scholarship Fund.

Starfish Project supports women escaping human trafficking and exploitation. The organization is currently working with more than 150 survivors to provide a fresh start in life by arranging safe housing, healthcare, education, and training, and by employing them to make jewelry and garments to support its mission. Order your next piece of jewelry today and help a survivor of human trafficking succeed!

Support Operation Smile’s Service Projects

For more than 30 years, GFWC clubwomen have combined their efforts to support Affiliate Organization Operation Smile’s surgical programs and patients in need. Now, members can show their continued support by providing Service Project items for the nonprofit’s surgical programs. This year, Operation Smile is asking clubwomen to come together and champion the volunteer spirit by using their crafting skills.

Members are encouraged to make various handmade items such as blankets, Smile Bags, Smile Splints, and hospital gowns. Clubs can also donate Child Life Therapy supply items, including toys, playmats, building blocks, and more.

To learn more about providing these needed items, view Operation Smile’s GFWC Service Projects Guide located in the “Affiliate Organizations” subfolder of the “A” Resources folder in the Member Portal Digital Library.

In addition to supporting Operation Smile with Service Project items, clubs can help share the organization’s work through fundraisers and by advocating for their programs in the local community.

Register Now: GFWC’s First Engage Beyond the Page: Meet the Author/Book Review

There’s less than a week left to register for GFWC’s first Engage Beyond the Page: Meet the Author/Book Review with Robin Yocum! This exciting event will take place on Zoom at 7:00 p.m. ET on November 16. Registration for the event will also take place directly through Zoom.

2022-2024 GFWC Education and Libraries Honorary Chairman Robin Yocum is the Edgar-nominated author known for his fiction set in the Ohio River Valley. He is the author of six works of fiction, including The Essay, our choice for the Meet the Author/Book Review, a novel about a young boy who grew up in a rural town in Appalachian, Ohio with little hope for success. It’s a story of finding the path that leads outside of one’s current situation and the opinions of others. For our members who are educators, it will be a walk down memory lane as you remember students who surprised themselves and the adults who believed in them.

Discussing a book with the author is a rare opportunity to gain more insight into the book, to learn about various inspirations, and to hear about what the author may be working on next.

The Essay by Robin Yocum can be purchased on many online sites. You are encouraged to complete the reading prior to the book review.

Register today through Zoom to join GFWC and Robin Yocum for this exciting opportunity.

Sharing the Federation Spirit Around the Globe

By Elaine Ko, International Liaisons Committee Member

Did you know the first GFWC International Clubs were in Bombay, India, in 1891 and London, England, in 1897? Or that GFWC had a club in Shanghai in 1941 called the American Woman’s Club of Shanghai? How about that in 1929, several GFWC clubwomen traveled to Rio de Janeiro to organize a woman’s club, or that the Jamaica Federation of Women was formed in 1939?

Throughout the years, GFWC has had 260 clubs in 55 countries. We now have 20 clubs, two of which are Juniorette Clubs. The economy, wars, society, community needs, and leadership have caused clubs to ebb and flow. Our clubs today are from Belize, Ukraine, Taiwan, Korea, Uganda, Cyprus, Brazil, Grand Bahamas, Peru, Philippines, Canada, Aruba, Netherlands Antilles, and Curacao.

The GFWC International Liaisons Committee meets remotely with our International Affiliates twice a month and our GFWC officers and membership join us. Our officers and members have also attended the Federation of Asian Women’s Association (FAWA) meetings throughout the years, meeting and traveling to several Asian countries.

The Taipei International Women’s Club recently celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2021 after becoming an affiliate of GFWC in 1951 with Past Honorary President Madame Chiang Soong Mei-long. This club is one example of many that have a deep history of service in philanthropy and diversity in its membership.

As you travel, bring GFWC information with you to share with clubwomen you may meet and invite them to join the GFWC. We are proud that GFWC welcomes our international sisters to our meetings and International Conventions!

Celebrate Your Love of Writing this November 15

By Donna Shibley, GFWC Writing Contest Chairman

Pull out your pen and paper this November 15 for I Love to Write Day! What better way to sharpen your writing skills and break out of your comfort zone than to compose a poem or tackle writing a short story?

Even though writing can be fun, it can also be challenging. People think J.K. Rowling wrote her first Harry Potter novel at a local pub on napkins. Not true. However, while on a flight without a single piece of paper on hand, she came up with the Hogwarts houses by writing on a motion sickness bag!

We all have unique experiences and outlooks on life, and getting these thoughts and life events down on paper or in a Word file can be incredibly rewarding. Not only can this be therapeutic and beneficial to you as a writer, but by sharing your experiences, you may be able to help others.

No matter what you choose to write, celebrate this day by embracing your creative spark and consider entering your work in the GFWC Writing Contest!

For more information about the writing contest, visit the “Club Manual” subfolder of the “C” Resources folder in the Member Portal Digital Library.

GFWC's Women’s History and Resource Center provides a unique opportunity to all clubwomen to explore the Federation's inspiring history. Read more about this incredible resource and other GFWC news in this week's News & Notes: www.gfwc.org/news-notes-november-10-2022

State President’s Project: Lori Hawley, Colorado

GFWC Colorado State President Lori Hawley’s Administration theme is Volunteering Makes Your Heart Sing! She has asked her fellow Colorado clubwomen to focus on the feeling a volunteer experiences when they realize their efforts have positively affected someone else. By examining how volunteering makes them feel, clubwomen will be able to talk about the joy of volunteering and share it with their friends and neighbors, thereby increasing membership, which is Lori’s first goal.

Being a professional musician, it felt natural for Lori to make music the theme for her Administration, and it was serendipitous when she learned of Musicians On Call, whose mission is to bring the healing power of music to hospital patients and others.

Musicians On Call serves patients, families, and caregivers in hospitals across the country and provides live and video performances to facilitate interactive, group, and one-on-one experiences. They also provide tablets with up-beat or calming playlists, along with noise-cancelling headphones to cancer patients, dialysis patients, and others.

The results are amazing! Musicians On Call’s services transform the suffering that patients experience in hospitals. The organization has served more than 1 million people across the country. Lori is encouraging Colorado clubwomen and others to donate to this worthwhile organization.

Lori has also urged Colorado clubs to support music in their communities by donating used instruments to their local school music programs, supporting live music opportunities, buying music for community bands and choirs, taking seniors to concerts, paying for dry cleaning of marching band uniforms, inviting instrumental and vocal music groups to perform at their events, paying for school instrument repairs, funding scholarships to summer music camps, and doing at least one project with the proceeds going to Musicians On Call.

Lori is excited to bring music into the forefront of her Administration, and she can’t wait to see how Colorado clubwomen will respond!

Sign Up Today for the 2022 GFWC Holiday Open House

GFWC Headquarters will be filled with holiday cheer on December 7 for the in-person 2022 GFWC Holiday Open House, hosted by GFWC International President Deb Strahanoski and GFWC Director of Junior Clubs Katie Moydell. The event will include two scheduled receptions from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET at GFWC’s historic Headquarters at 1734 N St. NW, Washington, DC. At this time, registration for the afternoon session is closed, but there are still spots open to attend the morning reception. During each reception, attendees will be able to enjoy viewing ceramic holiday villages provided by the State Federations that will be on display in recognition of this year’s theme, Home for the Holidays.

To accommodate guests coming from out of town, GFWC has a room block available at the Courtyard by Marriott Washington, DC Dupont Circle hotel across the street from Headquarters. Book your room online today.

Register today through the Member Portal and enjoy the giving season with Federation friends. If you would like to register a group for the reception, please email [email protected].

Building Community Awareness

By Joann Wheeler, GFWC Membership Committee Member

WE ARE GFWC! As an international organization, we are proud of our history, traditions, and contributions to our communities through volunteer service. Even though we are improving our branding, have a beautiful working headquarters, and many clubs located throughout all states and several countries, we still struggle to step into the limelight as a powerful women’s volunteer organization. The solution to this lack of recognition is a stronger effort by every club to build their community awareness right at home. Step up, be seen, be heard, and share the work of GFWC volunteers!

So how do we accomplish this mission of educating our communities about the benefits of belonging to GFWC, share the many volunteer opportunities, and promote the assistance given to different communities? Members now have multiple avenues to reach out and share the “wealth” of GFWC. Digital promotion, printed materials, radio, and television can all be used to reinforce this information. The social media world also continues to grow and allows us to tell the story of GFWC’s volunteer accomplishments.

Reach out, attend social, city, and community events, go to other organization’s activities, and participate in business gatherings and chamber meetings. Doing all these activities will connect your club with the community and help them understand what the club is doing to support the community’s needs. Showcase the local club by wearing some form of GFWC branding, display signage and posters, hand out club information, and meet individuals with a smile on your face and an eagerness to share about the many benefits of being a GFWC volunteer. Word of mouth is a powerful way to excite other women about the impact of GFWC. Develop a reputation as the “go to club” when a need is identified in the community.

Are you living the volunteer spirit? Then tell someone today!

Today is Make a Difference Day and GFWC clubwomen everywhere are making a positive impact in their communities through volunteer service! How is your club working to make the world a better place?

Celebrate the holiday spirit this year by attending the in-person 2022 GFWC Holiday Open House hosted by GFWC International President Deb Strahanoski and GFWC Director of Junior Clubs Katie Moydell on Wednesday, December 7. You can sign up to attend one of two scheduled receptions from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. During each reception, you can enjoy viewing ceramic holiday villages provided by the State Federations that will be on display in recognition of this year’s theme, Home for the Holidays. Register today through the GFWC Member Portal: bit.ly/3dVwoDX

Benefits in Action BOXED fundraiser on Wednesday 10/26

This month, GFWC Affiliate Organization Heifer International is celebrating 25 years of work in Nepal that focuses on helping local women farmers improve food security and reduce poverty. To learn more about how your club can get involved in supporting women's empowerment around the world, contact Heifer representatives Beth and Brianne at [email protected] and check out Heifer's inspiring blog: bit.ly/3UIu6IK

It's once again time to register for the in-person 2022 GFWC Holiday Open House! Join us as we celebrate the holiday spirit on December 7 at GFWC's historic Headquarters at 1734 N St. NW, Washington, DC. You can sign up to attend one of two scheduled receptions from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. During each reception, you can enjoy viewing ceramic holiday villages provided by the State Federations that will be on display in recognition of this year’s theme, Home for the Holidays. Register today through the GFWC Member Portal: bit.ly/3dVwoDX